Khloe Kardashian’s stepdad weighs in on whirlwind wedding

By Melissa Arseniuk (contact)

Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 | 6:51 a.m.

Khloe Kardashian

Special to the Sun/Scott Harrison, Retna

Bruce Jenner, stepfather of Khloe Kardashian, walks the red carpet Friday, Sept.25, at the opening of Emeril Lagasse's Stadium eatery at the Palazzo hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

Justin M. Bowen

Laker Lamar Odom shoots a jump shot Sunday night, Oct. 12, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

When Khloe Kardashian got married Sunday afternoon, she didn’t just get a husband; she got a big check, too.

“My wife has sold this thing,” Kardsahian’s stepfather, Bruce Jenner, said, shaking his head while in Las Vegas on Friday.

“We’re right in the middle of shooting season four, it’s great television,” Jenner said, flashing a sly smile at the grand opening of Stadium at the Palazzo. “It will be a one-hour special on E!”

The youngest of the sisters Kardashian married NBA star Lamar Odom Sunday after a brief, whirlwind romance.

The two dated for just more than a month before announcing their engagement less than a week ago.

Jenner said he learned his stepdaughter was engaged while listening to the radio.

“I heard Ryan Seacrest on the radio in the morning. He kind of told me that Khloe’s getting married,” Jenner said. “I went, ah, nah, it’s just a rumor, I mean, she would tell me.”

Kardashian didn’t tell him, but that didn’t stop the rumors from coming.

“A guy on the driving range … that afternoon told me, ‘Congratulations, I hear your daughter’s getting married,’ and I was all, ‘Uh, I don’t know, uh, really?’ and then it was on the news that night,” Jenner said.

He said his stepdaughter was in New York earlier that day and hadn’t as much as called to break the news to the family on the West Coast. As the chatter continued through the day, she was unreachable, on a plane headed back to L.A.

Later, when she returned home, she confirmed that she and Odom were, in fact, engaged.

“She actually picked out her wedding dress before she told me,” Jenner said. “(That’s) a bone of contention, there.”

The head of the Kardashian-Jenner household hadn’t even met his soon-to-be-son-in-law at that point.

“I finally met him a couple of days ago,” he said on Friday, adding, “He seemed like a wonderful guy (and) I wish him the best.”

Jenner made it obvious that he thought the couple was rushing into things while talking to reporters on Friday.

“(My wife) Kris is just living in la la land,” he said. “Whatever the girls do, she just thinks it’s wonderful! Not me. I believe in doing things right.”

Still, the former track and field star hopes his stepdaughter and new son-in-law have what it takes to beat the odds and go the distance.

“She’s 25 and he’s 29 and, you know, yeah, they haven’t known each other very long but obviously there’s some chemistry working here and I wish them nothing but the best of luck,” he said.

The marriage is the first for both Kardashian and Odom, though Odom has two children with former longtime girlfriend, Liza Morales.

While Jenner doesn’t like it, he is getting used to life in the tabloids, complete with non-stop paparazzi coverage and E! camera crews capturing his family’s every move. That combination, along with the advent of Twitter, has rendered the Jenner-Kardashinan brood’s privacy virtually nonexistent.

“I don’t like my life right now, to be honest,” he said. “Everybody knows what’s going on. … More people know what’s going on than I do, because I’m always the last one to know.”

Less than 48 hours before his stepdaughter’s nuptials, he said on Friday that he still didn’t know many details of the imminent wedding.

“All I know is that at 4:30 on Sunday I have to walk her down the aisle,” he said, adding, “There will be 250 people there, I know that.”

“My wife … literally found out a week ago and planned this entire wedding in a week, which is amazing to me,” he said. “All the invitations, spectacular invitations, she’s done in, like, three days.”

He said the ceremony, which was held at the home of Ticketmaster chairman and CEO/music manager Irving Azoff, was going to be an untraditional one.

“Khloe keeps saying she does not want a traditional wedding. She doesn’t want the first dance thing,” Jenner said. “There is no maid of honor right now, she’s just going to have her family up there with her.”

“She’s going to have all her sisters up there with her,” he continued, admitting, “I don’t even know who’s on Lamar’s side.”

Odom's teammate, Kobe Bryant, served as the best man, according to reports.

Prior to her romance with the L.A. Laker, the Kardashian dated Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Rashad McCants.

The bride’s older sister, Kim Kardashian, also has a professional athlete-laced past. She dated New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush for nearly two years before they ultimately parted ways this summer.

The middle and most-famous Kardashian sister told the Sun last week that she has subsequently imposed a “no more athletes” rule, effectively dashing any hopes of reconciling with Bush.

Though he is a former athlete himself, Kardashian’s stepfather approves of the pledge.

“I’m so easy going but most jocks aren’t that way,” Jenner said. “Stay away from them. They’re bad, they’re bad.”

As far as advice for the newlyweds, though, Jenner said he doesn’t have any. “You don’t give Khloe advice,” he said. “That’s one thing that you don’t do.”

Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at melissa.arseniuk@lasvegassun.com.